Meta gave a sneak peek of one of its first VR wearables

The platform Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is in the early phases of developing haptic gloves to put the virtual world at our fingertips, despite the fact that no such technology is now commercially accessible. The company recently stated that these gloves have been in development for the past seven years and that there are still a few more steps to be taken.

The wearer of these gloves would be able to interact with and control the virtual environment as well as experience it similarly to how one would experience the real world. The gloves would be used in conjunction with an AR or VR headset by the wearer. Two users may be seen engaging in remote thumb-wrestling in a video that Meta put on a blog. They can see a pair of robotic hands reflecting their own hands' movements in their virtual reality (VR) headsets. They should be able to feel every squeeze and twitch of their partner's hand while wearing their gloves.

Sean Keller, the research director at Meta Reality Lab, stated in a corporate blog, "We use our hands to connect with people, to learn about the world, and to take action within it. If we can integrate full hand presence into AR and VR, we can benefit from a lifetime of motor learning.

The haptic reach of Meta now surpasses its grasp, but they are working to narrow the gap. The goal of Meta is to produce lightweight, comfortable, customized gloves that express all of the familiar tactile cues like pressure, texture, and weight. The glove would precisely and accurately track hand motion and be able to communicate virtual information to the user, such as when the glove comes into contact with a virtual surface or object.

The basis for the glove was laid by the creators with the aid of soft robotics and microfluidics technology that is already in use in limb prostheses. The prototype is coated in thousands of small motors called actuators, which currently seem like heavy duty winter sport or metallurgical equipment with a few cables. The constantly varying sensations that are transmitted from the virtual environment to the wearer's hand are brought about by the actuators. Pneumatic and electroactive actuators were used by the development team; each uses air pressure to generate force and changes size and shape in reaction to an electrical field. Compared to a conventional mechanical actuator, a lot more of these pneumatic actuators can fit on a glove.

The high-speed microfluidic processor will be in charge. This tiny computer chip will control the air flow that moves the actuators and communicates with the glove's valves, telling them when and how much to open and close. The user's movements and what they feel will be precisely synchronized in a more advanced view of the gloves. The CPU will trigger the actuators when users press their hand onto a simulated surface, signaling how hard and solid it is. Even though haptic gloves and a full bodysuit are still a ways off, Meta is optimistic that this prototype is a promising first step.

A wearable wrist device and AR-capable eyewear are also in the works at Meta as part of their long-term objective to ground a virtual environment. The glasses would allow the user to move around in the real world while attending to distant and virtual demands, such as ordering a cup of coffee or looking through spreadsheets. The wearable gadget serves as a means of navigation and control rather than a means of experiencing the virtual world. Imagine it as a mouse of the future that enables you to select options with just a flick of the wrist.

However, Meta's strategy has already encountered significant difficulties. When haptics business HaptX tweeted a statement on Tuesday saying that the main elements of Meta's prototype "look to be substantively identical" to their patented technology, the emerging invention was met with backlash. The CEO and creator of the business claims he is looking for "a fair and equitable arrangement" to address this issue while Meta uses HaptX's technology.